Super talent Paris Brunner played for BVB for the first time at senior level. RWE defender Andreas Wiegel decided this duel in his favor on Sunday.

Before the away game at Rot-Weiss Essen (0:4), Borussia Dortmund’s U23s had a surprising line-up. Paris Brunner made his senior debut in the starting eleven.

The U17 World Cup winner has made 17 appearances for BVB’s U19s in the Junior Bundesliga West this season, scoring 16 goals. The 18-year-old, who was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal in 2023 for the best young player born in 2006, is to be introduced to the men’s game, as BVB coach Jan Zimmermann explained on MagentaSport before the match.

He emphasized: “We have said that our goal in the 3rd division with the U23s is to stay in the league. We now have a fairly comfortable situation, so we now have the opportunity to give one or two players time in the 3rd division. We want to see how far the boys have come. Paris had a great week of training with us, he’s doing exciting things. If it’s not working yet, then Paris can see what he still needs to work on.”

And indeed, you could see that the talent still has to work on himself. In the 72 minutes leading up to his substitution, Brunner appeared over-motivated.

In sporting terms, he had two eye-catching scenes before the break. In the 19th minute, he won the ball in his own half, held his own in a duel and initiated a counter-attack brilliantly. He laid the ball into the path of Rodney Elongo-Yombo – but he wasted the ball on the first touch.

It was a different story in the 30th minute. This time Brunner was sent off and suddenly found himself alone in front of RWE goalkeeper Jakob Golz. As he tried to round Golz, he stumbled and the ball went out of play – a great chance for his first senior goal.

After the change, Brunner no longer stood out in sporting terms, but he looked more frustrated by the minute. Perhaps he had taken on too much for his first senior outing.

Time and again he went into direct duels with RWE right-back Andreas Wiegel. Again and again he lost these biting duels. After losing the ball once again, the attacker followed up and completely checked Wiegel away – he was lucky not to see yellow here, as it was purely a frustrating action.

But you could also see that he still has a long way to go to reach senior level

Jan Zimmermann on Paris Brunner

After just under an hour, he picked up a yellow card after all. Again, the attacker looked frustrated. After an offensive move was whistled off, he first protested and then threw the ball on the ground – for which he was cautioned.

What remains after his first outing in League Three? You could see that Brunner wanted to, you could see that he is also prepared to work defensively. But you could also see that he needs time. Wiegel showed him that day how tough it is in the senior sector.

Zimmermann also stated after the 90 minutes with regard to Brunner’s involvement: “There were flashes of what he can do from time to time. But you could also see that there’s still a long way to go for him to reach senior level. “